“There appears to be light at the end of the tunnel, but that’s not to say this health crisis is completely done and dusted,” said David Madden, an analyst at CMC Markets in London.

“There’s probably a few traders saying, ‘I know stocks are really cheap’, but at the same time don’t want to go in and buy just yet because the health crisis doesn’t appear to be getting any better.”

The benchmark index was still set to post its worst quarter in nearly two decades, as the number of COVID-19 cases continued to rise in Europe and several nations extended lockdown measures that have halted business activity and crushed sentiment.